News Photo by Julie Riddle Home health care worker Billie Jo Karsten checks on patient Chester Szymanski in his Alpena home.

ALPENA — This is now the second installment of Progress, which we aim to be an annual feature examining the trends, entrepreneurs, and ordinary workers that drive Northeast Michigan’s economy (check out Progress 2019 stories at TheAlpenaNews.com).

This year, we considered tackling the undeniable effect the coronavirus pandemic had on local businesses in 2020. It hurt all of them in one way or another. It changed the way many operated. It killed some of them.

But we decided against that topic, which had been covered extensively in the news pages of this paper and which we know is but a blip in the long line of success of Northeast Michigan businesses.

So, instead, this section aims to discuss the things that make Northeast Michigan’s economy unique, examining the types of industries we offer the world and the people who make those industries hum. We hope you enjoy it.

* “Economic, traffic shifts demark northern sector of state, experts say”

* “Area employers try unconventional methods to recruit talent Up North”

* “What works here?”

* “Home health care worker in-demand in rural Northeast Michigan”

* “Veteran artist part of thriving art scene in Northeast Michigan”

* “ACC welding teacher learns all he can for his students”

* “45th Parallel offers good climate for hunting, farming, fishing, shipwrecks”

* “Big-money tourism, commerce travels U.S.-23”

* “Our towns“